WO2006095038A2

WO2006095038A2 - Isothermal container comprising a refrigeration element

Info

Publication number: WO2006095038A2
Application number: PCT/ES2006/000101
Authority: WO
Inventors: Olivier Guerrero; Jean Serrano; Pierre Marie Charpentier
Original assignee: Sensigrade Limited
Priority date: 2005-03-11
Filing date: 2006-03-03
Publication date: 2006-09-14
Also published as: WO2006095038A3

Abstract

The invention relates to an isothermal container (1) for transporting thermosensitive products, comprising an outer casing (2) and refrigeration means. The outer casing (2) is formed by a cardboard container. The refrigeration means comprise: a layer of foam polymer material (3) which is covered with a metal sheet and which is disposed adjacent to the side walls, the base and the upper part of the container; and a refrigeration element (4) with a bag made from film containing an eutectic gel and a sheet of rigid foam (6), which can maintain constant cold conditions of between 0 °C and 10 °C for at least 96 hours. The refrigeration element with the plastic film (7) containing the eutectic gel is separated from a rectangular rigid polyethylene sheet (8) by a separating sheet of film (9) such as to define two isolated cavities (10, 11).

Description

Isothermal container with cooling element

DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of this patent application is to register an isothermal container with a cooling element that incorporates notable innovations and advantages over other elements or units for cooling and cooling.

More specifically, it refers to the transport of heat-sensitive products comprising a packaging formed by an outer casing and cooling means, and a cooling element comprising a flexible film receptacle that includes a substantially liquid cooling substance inside, the purpose of which is The placement inside the isothermal container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

At present, a wide range of packages and containers is known for the purpose of transporting heat-sensitive products, such as medicines, vaccines, laboratory tests, etc. through air or land transport that include cooling means such as bags, inside which is ice or other cooling substance.

Another system consists in the use of packaging inside which carbonic ice is available that provides its sublimation properties. However, the duration of carbonic ice is ephemeral and results in undesirable gases.

Another example of packaging is described in Invention Patent No. 2 161

600 in which a thermally insulating packaging for heat-sensitive products is described which has a housing with insulating walls and at least one container with a cooling element consisting of a mixture of frozen water with a common salt housed in refillable bags. However, we must It should be noted that the set of elements used in the previous example reduces the internal capacity of the receptacle and in turn implies a greater assembly and preparation time of the packaging.

In addition, all the packaging designs that are being used today have a limited capacity in terms of the conservation time of the desired conditions to maintain the products transported, either by the materials used or the configuration thereof, than in the In case of relatively long transport times they can cause deterioration of the products stored inside. On the other hand, it is known the use of refrigeration elements or units to maintain specific thermal conditions in the packages of the mentioned type, said elements being formed by a bag in which a refrigerant substance is stored capable of maintaining during a certain period of weather a cold state of stored products. This type of cooling is called "passive cold", that is, it does not require the use of a motor device inside the receptacles for transporting products.

However, the refrigeration elements currently available in the market have the disadvantage that during the previous freezing process, depending on the position in which the bags are placed when they are frozen, they can take an undesirable shape, with a variety of folds which can lead to a general impractical form. It is preferable that the cooling bag has a plane as possible as possible in order to cover a larger surface or cooling area inside the receptacle in which it will be arranged. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in order to provide an isothermal container and a cooling element that solves the aforementioned drawbacks, also providing other additional advantages that will be apparent from the description that follows.

The isothermal container of the present invention for the transport of thermosensitive products is of the type comprising an outer shell and cooling means, and is characterized by the fact that the outer shell is formed by a receptacle formed by cardboard material and by the fact that said cooling means comprise a layer of polymeric foam material covered by a thin metallic sheet, said sheet being arranged adjacent to the side walls, the base and the upper part of the receptacle, and cooling means comprising a bag of film that includes inside a eutectic gel and a rigid foam sheet, capable of maintaining cold conditions constantly for a period of at least 96 hours.

Thanks to these characteristics, an isothermal container is obtained with a low production cost, quick and easy to assemble, specially designed to facilitate air transport, which improves the cooling conditions of stored products by maintaining the desired thermal conditions for longer . On the other hand, the presence of the rigid sheet prevents deformation of the bag or receptacle during the freezing process, so that such elements can be arranged on the sides of the receptacle so that a greater storage volume is available.

The lower section of the container comprises a pallet configuration made of cardboard, so that handling tasks are facilitated during transport and shipping operations in addition to the costs. On the other hand, the use of cardboard avoids the use of wooden pallets, inappropriate material for the transport of certain products, since the wood can be easily contaminated by bacteria.

The cooling element of the present invention is of the type comprising a film receptacle that includes a substantially liquid cooling substance inside it, and is essentially characterized by the fact that the film is made of plastic material and inside said receptacle at least one rigid foam sheet is provided.

Preferably, the cooling element is formed by a plurality of modules so that it is arranged adjacent to the side walls of the receptacle, the lower base and the upper part.

Thanks to these characteristics, an element is obtained for cooling without mechanical or electrical means, improved with respect to other elements known in the art, easy to place in isothermal transport boxes, since the presence of the rigid sheet prevents deformation of the bag or receptacle during the freezing process. Said sheet does not alter in any case the cooling properties of the inner substance.

Advantageously, the rigid foam sheet is made of polyethylene and has a rectangular contour whose dimensions of height and width are slightly smaller than the interior dimensions of the receptacle.

According to another aspect of the invention, the cooling substance is separated from

The rigid foam sheet by means of a sheet of separation film, defining two insulated cavities. In this way it is avoided that the product to be transported, which is in contact with the cooling element, is in direct contact with the cooling substance and that the product is frozen in an undesirable way. This results particularly useful for products in which it is important to maintain cold conditions but without reaching its freezing point.

Preferably, the cooling substance consists of a eutectic gel. Other features and advantages of the isothermal container and the refrigeration element object of the present invention will be apparent from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DESIGNS

Figure 1.- It is a detail view in side elevation in section corresponding to a section of the isothermal container of the present invention.

Figure 2.- It is a general perspective view of the container of the invention. Figure 3.- It is a perspective view of the cooling element of the present invention; Y

Figure 4.- It is a side elevation view in section corresponding to a second embodiment of the cooling element.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the isothermal container (1) of the present invention made for the transport of heat-sensitive products, is formed by an outer shell (2) and cooling means, being constituted The outer shell (2) by a receptacle that forms the side walls, the bottom and the upper part by way of a lid or flip covers formed by conventional cardboard material, such as corrugated or corrugated cardboard.

The said cooling means comprise a layer (3) of polymeric foam material, such as polyethylene or polyurethane, coated on both sides of a thin metallic bonded sheet. Said layer (3) is arranged adjacent to the side walls, the base and the upper part of the receptacle, and inside the Packaging is a cooling element (4) comprising a film bag that includes inside a eutectic gel and a sheet (6) of rigid foam. This container (1) is capable of maintaining cold conditions in a range between 0 ⁰ C and 1O ⁰ C constantly for a period of at least 96 hours.

On the other hand, the cooling element (4) used in the invention is formed by a plurality of modules so that it is arranged adjacent to the side walls of the receptacle, the lower base and the upper part.

The lower section of the container (1) comprises a configuration (5) as a pallet made of cardboard of the same type as the rest of the packaging to facilitate maneuvering or handling of the container through the use of suitable vehicles, such as forklifts conventional.

One of the great advantages of the receptacle described here is that all the components used can be folded in substantially flat portions, so that when they are not used they can be stored occupying a small space.

As shown in Figure 3, the cooling element of the present invention intended for isothermal boxes comprises a transparent film bag (7) that includes in its interior a substantially liquid cooling substance, such as eutectic gel. The film is made of plastic material such as that used for transparent plastic bags and inside said bag (7) it is provided by at least one sheet (8) of rigid polyethylene rigid foam that provides rigidity to the assembly, ensuring that when the The inner gel freezes the disposition of the bag as extensively as possible and presents a generally parallelepipedic shape. Figure 4 shows a second embodiment of the object of the invention, in which it is provided that the cooling substance is separated from the sheet (8) of rigid polyethylene foam by means of a sheet of separation film (9), defining two isolated cavities (10, 11). In a third embodiment of the invention, the cooling element can be formed by two units of cooling elements with rigid sheets arranged inside, heat welded through a transverse section, so that through this configuration it can be arranged to cover two walls sides of a transport box. Finally, mention that the rigid term implies that the sheet can bend slightly during handling when the eutectic gel is in a liquid state.

The details, shapes, dimensions and other accessory elements, as well as the materials used in the manufacture of the isothermal container and the refrigeration element of the invention may be conveniently replaced by others that are technically equivalent and do not depart from the essentiality of The invention or the scope defined by the claims included below.

Claims

1. "Isothermal container" (1), for the transport of thermosensitive products comprising an outer shell (2) and cooling means, characterized by the fact that the outer shell (2) is formed by a receptacle formed by material of cardboard and by the fact that said cooling means comprise a layer (3) of polymeric foam material covered by a thin metallic sheet, said layer being arranged adjacent to the side walls, the base and the upper part of the receptacle and a cooling element (4) comprising a film bag that includes inside a eutectic gel and a sheet (6) of rigid foam, capable of maintaining cold conditions in a range between 0 ⁰ C and 1O ⁰ C of constantly over a period of at least 96 hours.

2. "Isothermal container" (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cooling element (4) is formed by a plurality of modules so that it is arranged adjacent to the side walls of the receptacle, the lower base and The upper part.

3. "Isothermal container" (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower section of the container (1) comprises a configuration (5) as a pallet made of cardboard.

4. "Cooling element" comprising a film receptacle (7) which includes in its interior a substantially liquid cooling substance, characterized by the fact that the film is made of plastic material and inside said receptacle is provided by Io minus a rigid foam sheet (8).

5. "Cooling element" according to claim 4, characterized in that the rigid foam sheet (8) is rigid polyethylene and has a rectangular contour whose dimensions of height and width are slightly smaller with respect to the interior dimensions of the interior space of the film receptacle (7).

6. "Cooling element" according to claim 4, characterized in that the cooling substance is separated from the rigid foam sheet (8) by a sheet of separation film (9), defining two insulated cavities (10, eleven ).

7. "Cooling element" according to claim 4, characterized in that the cooling substance consists of a eutectic gel.